


More (Than Friends)

by FrozenMemories



Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: Episode: s14e09 Check In And Check Out, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:01:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24241735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenMemories/pseuds/FrozenMemories
Summary: Nick picks David up from the hospital to take him home.Tumblr prompt: "We're not just friends. You know that."
Relationships: David Hodges/Nick Stokes
Comments: 22
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pavvlove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pavvlove/gifts), [ian___moone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ian___moone/gifts).



> I've always hated how dismissive Nick was when David was lying on that stretcher, so here's some empathetic Nick instead.

“Hey there, sleeping beauty, ready for your ride home?”

David wearily dragged his hands up to his eyes, rubbing a little harder than recommended. Stars danced behind his eyes and surely the aftereffects of being drugged were playing tricks on his mind.

“Nick?”

“Yeah, were you expecting someone else?”

“I uh, no…” In fact, he wasn’t expecting anyone – or anything for that matter. He was still having a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact that he’d been dosed with LSD and couldn’t remember anything between processing a motel room and waking in a hospital bed.

Russell and Finn had kindly filled him in on his moment of madness before they’d left him to sleep off the sedatives.

“DB said they were going to release you this afternoon, provided you had someone to take you home and stay with you for another day.”

David blinked, trying to piece the implication of those words together.

“By someone you mean _you_?” he asked, incredulously.

Nick merely shrugged, “We drew straws.”

His initial reaction was a huffed out laugh. Which he came to regret as soon as it vibrated through his lingering headache, making him wince.

Nick placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled sympathetically.

“You alright there, bud?”

_No._

“You don’t have to do this – pretend like we’re friends,” he muttered, avoiding Nick’s eyes in favor of staring at a blemish in the drab linoleum floor.

He couldn’t see the impact of his words but he could hear it in Nick’s sharp intake of breath. The hand on his shoulder fell away.

“Come on, Dave. We’re not just friends. You know that.”

There was a hint of softness in Nick’s tone that he rarely used – at least not around David. Now he was sure his mind was playing tricks on him. Either that or Nick was.

“Do I, Nick? I didn’t even think we were friends anymore.”

His voice sounded dejected, sulking even, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Not with the thunderstorm still raging through his skull.

He swayed a little as he slid off the bed, the chilly air against his bare legs suddenly making him very aware of the flimsy hospital gown he was wearing. Nick nudged him gently and rewarded him with a smile David wasn’t sure he deserved.

“Sure we are, Dave.” He grinned, eye crinkles and nose scrunch and all – and damn if that didn’t do something to David’s jaded old heart. “Now get your scrawny ass covered up, I’m blinded by the white.”

While the offense sank in Nick slid a bag off his shoulder and shoved it into David’s arms. With furrowed brows he opened it to find his set of spares inside. Reading the question off his face Nick explained how his clothes had been collected as evidence – which explained the indecent nightgown he hadn’t had the wits to question before.

“I may have tampered with the lock on your locker, sorry. You should just use your mom’s birthday as a lock code like any normal person does.”

“Hm, yeah. Thanks for the advice,” David mumbled while he struggled to fit his foot into the pant leg without losing his balance.

“They really knocked you out, huh?” Nick mused with an easy smirk on his lips. “You’ve skipped over at least a dozen comebacks by now.”

David shrugged, “Maybe when my brain doesn’t feel like scrambled eggs.”

A knock on the open door interrupted them.

He tried to focus while the nurse rattled down instructions for his release. All he managed to catch were the words _hydrated_ and _rest_ while he fiddled with the knot at the back of his neck. Without even pretending to read the release papers he blindly scribbled his name on the empty line at the bottom and shoved the clipboard back toward the woman, relieved when she bid them goodbye a few moments later.

And there they were again.

“Need help?” Nick offered, not bothering to keep a respectable distance. Instead he boldly reached both hands out, adjusting David’s body like a puppet until he had access to the entangled strings. His hands were warm against David’s skin but managed to raise goosebumps with every haphazard brush. David gritted his teeth in response.

“There you go,” Nick announced as he let the fabric fall open and took a step back. David was quick to cover himself with the shirt he’d laid out on the bed.

To think that there had been times when he didn’t feel all kinds of uncomfortable around this man. He pressed his lips together against the involuntary twitches of his facial muscles. If only he could think more clearly. Instead he was acting like a complete fool while Nick was putting an effort into mending the fences between them.

“Nick?” He looked up to meet his genuine eyes, that somehow seemed even darker in his beard framed face. David swallowed down the inappropriate observation. “I… um… thanks.”

There was that smile again.

“Of course, man. I meant what I said.”

“That we’re…” he gestured vaguely between them, unsure of what he wanted to express, what he wanted Nick to imply. Most of all, unsure of himself.

Nick’s eyebrows drew together and his tongue swept briefly across his lips.

“More than friends, David,” he offered with gentle determination in his voice, “If that’s still on the table.”

A spark of hope flickered though his insides.

“I don’t think it was ever really off,” David heard himself admit and then he felt his lips twitch into a bashful smirk.

“Tell you what. Let’s get outta here first. We can talk about _this-_ ” he repeated David’s bland gesture from before, “once your head’s unscrambled, yeah?”

David nodded, feeling like a weight had been lifted off him.

“Sounds good.”

Their shoulders brushed a number of times as they walked down the hallway side by side in silence.

“You know,” Nick said, casually draping an arm around David’s neck, “I lied about drawing straws. I volunteered.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On special request of ian___moone, here's a second chapter.

The ride back to his place was spent in companionable silence. David was too focused on simply keeping his eyes open to be able to come up with small-talk and Nick thankfully didn’t push. He still felt fuzzy from the sedatives, even though he’d been sleeping them off for hours.

“Thanks for the ride,” David said when Nick pulled up in front of his apartment complex, wondering if the situation called for a hug and ending up awkwardly lifting his arms up and down. Nick however didn’t seem to pay him any mind, while he unfastened his seatbelt.

David frowned. “You don’t have to walk me to the door.”

“I’m coming in,” Nick stated with an easy smile.

“You don’t have to,” David felt obliged to offer but Nick just shrugged him off.

“Did we not just talk about that? I’m staying.”

To add finality to his words Nick slammed the door of his SUV shut and began walking up the pathway.

“But don’t you have to get back to work?” David asked, catching up.

“It’s all taken care of,” Nick smiled again and placed his hand at the small of David’s back, leading him toward the door.

Kobe greeted them eagerly, complaining loudly about David’s unscheduled absence from home. David began apologizing profusely as he made his way to the kitchen where he pulled a fresh can of food from the cabinet and served it to him as a peace offering. Kneeling on the floor he scratched at Kobe’s head the way he liked while the cat dug into his bowl.

Poor Kobayashi hadn’t been in danger of starving of course; David had bought him one of those fancy dry food dispensers that he could activate with his paw – Kobe’s smart like that – for occasions like these. Well, it was meant for occasions where David had to pull unexpected doubles; he hadn’t exactly foreseen being drugged and hospitalized while at work, but he was glad for the investment anyway.

Behind him he heard Nick shuffle and turned his head to watch him shrug out of his jacket.

“I’m sorry, can I offer you a drink or something to eat?”

The world around him began swaying a little when he moved to get up from the floor.

“I’m good,” Nick waved him off, “how about you? Have you eaten at all?”

“Do I look like I eat hospital grub?”

That made Nick chuckle.

“You got anything here I can prep us a meal with?”

“You don’t have to, I can-,”

“No.” He was interrupted before he could protest, “You’re supposed to rest, remember? Go, watch some TV or take a shower and I’ll fix something up.”

“What, you’re not gonna help me with that?” While aiming for sharp-edged sarcasm David couldn’t help but notice the teasing note in his own voice. Nick brought it out in him so easily and he didn’t see a point in fighting it.

“You wish, hot shot. It’s not like you got your arms broken or anything. I trust you can manage on your own.” David wondered why, despite the flirtatious smile, Nick’s words caused a sense of disappointment. “Just make sure to keep the door unlocked, so I can come to your rescue in case you faint and crash through the shower wall.”

“You’re so considerate.” He muttered with an involuntary smirk.

Slowly, he was feeling himself again.

When he emerged from the shower he was greeted by the smells of cooking and the sight of Nick squatting down next to Kobayashi, scratching his head. Kobe had always liked Nick and David wasn’t sure if he should be endeared by the gentleness Nick expressed toward the cat or aroused by how tight Nick’s jeans were stretching across his thighs and ass in that position.

He was still debating the matter in his head when Nick took note of his return.

“There you are,” he greeted cheerfully, “I found some spinach in the freezer and made scrambled eggs with them. Potatoes should be another ten minutes.”

David couldn’t hold back a fond smile.

“So what’s the plan?” He asked once they were settled in front of the TV, empty plates set aside on the coffee table. Nick had been amused by David’s suggestion to watch _Astro Quest_ , but caved in readily – _for old times’ sake_. “Are you gonna sit in a chair by my bed and watch me sleep all night?”

“I’m not a creep, Dave,” Nick deadpanned immediately, “I’ll take the couch. It’s not too shabby to lie down on as far as I remember.” He said it with an almost leering smirk, while patting the cushions beside him.

The situation was so surreal it made David want to talk about it, _really_ talk. About what this meant, where they stood. Even though his mind was still foggy and he felt exhaustion creeping up on him.

“The bed’s a lot more comfortable though,” he carefully provided in barely more than an unsure whisper.

It wasn’t like Nick needed him to point out that fact – he was very well aware of it.

“Look,” Nick said, turning to him and placing a hand on his forearm to make sure he had David’s attention before he continued, “I’m not gonna take advantage of you.”

The sincerity in his eyes made David’s nerves flutter and he couldn’t help but react with a jab. “Since when?”

He felt cold as soon as Nick pulled his hand away from him to wipe it across his own face.

“I deserve that, didn’t I?” he conceded with a sigh. David pressed his lips together in a frown.

“I’m sorry,” Nick volunteered, softly. This time when his hand reached out to David it came to rest on his shoulder, not quite close enough to his neck to feel _intimate_ but more urgent, warmer somehow, than the touch before.

“I know I fucked up a lot of things between us. But I really wanna try to fix it. I’m not gonna make the same mistakes again, I…,” he trailed off, taking a deep breath and shaking his head, before picking up again, “We should talk before we let anything happen.”

David nodded, quietly agreeing, while his mind raced with possibilities of what he _wanted_ to happen between them. If. When.

“I’m sorry, too.”

Nick’s hand squeezed his shoulder affectionately and he readied himself to be pulled into a familiar embrace – that never came. Instead Nick settled back into the couch and returned his eyes to the TV screen, though his hand stayed close enough to David’s for the back of it to brush his.


	3. Chapter 3

Holding hands wasn't something David ever pictured himself doing but with Nick's fingers perpetually brushing against his and Nick's previous words still resonating in his mind he'd felt emboldened to reach out and once their hands were clasped Nick’s squeezed his reassuringly.

David smiled. He was feeling ridiculous, though that wasn't exactly a new experience for him. What was new, however, was the all-consuming buzz radiating through every layer of tissue in his body, making him feel a confusing mixture of giddy and calm. The only thing that kept his fingers from fidgeting was the remaining exhaustion of what he’d been through that day.

They were only on the second episode of _Astro Quest_ but he already found it hard to keep his eyes open. He knew he should have probably gotten up, brushed his teeth and settled for bed – he had no idea what time it was, but was too lazy and content to care. Nick chuckled at one of Commander Bishop’s jokes and David closed his eyes just for a second to revel in the sound.

The clamor of explosions and chaotic shouting rose him from a dreamless sleep. Apparently Nick had left the TV running. David blinked a couple of times to clear his head. By a quick internal estimation he must have missed an entire episode, plus half of the one he fell asleep on and part of the current one. He was curled up on his side, which allowed him to watch Nick's face without him yet realizing David had woken up.

He blinked again while his memories fell into place.

The table was cleared and Nick was leaning back comfortably, seemingly engrossed in _the battle of Q'an-Zetar_.

Smiling to himself, David carefully stretched out his leg until his toes touched Nick's thigh, catching his attention. He was startled by the warm sensation of Nick's broad hand coming down on his ankle.

"Hey there, sweet dreams?"

"Not really…," but who needed dreams, waking up to such a beautiful reality. David was grateful his mouth didn't choose to say that out loud. His thoughts were embarrassingly sappy.

"You're hooked, huh?" He asked instead, nodding to the screen.

Nick grinned. "You weren't so wrong about that sci-fi stuff," he admitted sheepishly, "Plus, the Commander’s kinda cute."

That wasn’t a statement he’d have ever expected from Nick, but it filled him with warm satisfaction and he readily agreed with a hum.

"How are you feeling?" Nick squeezed his ankle affectionately.

"Better,” he replied with a genuine smile.

"Need anything?"

"Coffee, but before you offer, I'll get it myself. I have to use the bathroom anyway, you keep watching that."

Reluctantly he extracted his leg from Nick’s loose grip and planted his feet on the ground. To his relief the blood-rush of standing up didn't cause him headaches anymore; he really was feeling better.

They didn't talk much until the episode finished and Nick paused the DVD player before the next would resume automatically. Even though his mug was empty, David held on to it with both hands as he realized what the silence around them would lead to.

"So...," he quietly stretched the word and looked up from his mug to meet Nick's annoyingly guarded face. He'd never been good with reading expressions. Nick's eyes seemed soft and intense, his eyebrows quirked like he was contemplating what to say, but his mouth was just a thin line; no trace of the smile David had hoped to see. Smiling was always a good sign, after all.

He felt a frown emerge across his own forehead.

"We don't have to talk just yet," Nick offered, saving him from finding the words to start this conversation.

 _But I want to_ , he wanted to say. His throat was dry, though, so he merely nodded.

"Do you want to watch another episode? Or go to bed?" Nick did sound a little reluctant himself, he mused, "Or do something else?"

He wanted to _talk_. He wanted to know what _more than friends_ meant. _How much more?_

He wanted Nick's hand in his again, Nick's arms around him – some kind of reassurance, to make him feel grounded and safe and not so goddamn lost in his awkward body and mind.

"Hey, David?" Nick's voice was so soft he felt like he could drown himself in it, "Are you with me?"

Nick looked... concerned? His eyebrows furrowed close above his nose and the corners of his lips were twitching up. His tongue swished over his lips, the way it did so often when Nick was preparing to speak. David was transfixed by the sight. Screw talking and making this complicated again, he knew what he wanted. And frankly, he was so tired of being a passive player in his own love life, always the one who got kissed first. It was time to take charge.

Swiftly he lunged forward and pressed his lips to Nick's.

His eyes were closed and he savored the soft press of Nick kissing him back instantly. A relieved sigh escaped through his slightly parted lips. Tentatively he opened his mouth a little wider, his tongue sneaking out for a probing lick, when Nick gently pushed him away.

"David," he gasped. The low rumble of Nick's voice made his name sound like an endearment.

"I thought we agreed to talk first," he reminded him slowly, hands still on his shoulders, keeping them apart without breaking contact, "I want this. Trust me, I do.”

David swallowed at the heartfelt admission. The words he hadn’t realized he’d been longing for, "But let's do it right this time, alright?"

Nick’s brows were creased, enhancing David’s urge to lean right back into his face. But he knew Nick was right and he conceded with a small nod. Nick slid his right hand up along David’s throat until it rested gently against the side of his face.

When their eyes met David felt his heartbeat fasten.

“You’re right,” he said quietly, “Let’s talk.”

And so they did.


End file.
